The present invention relates to an electronic conferencing system; and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method, for use in the electronic conferencing system, for locking or prohibiting an access to a designated object displayed on a shared electronic whiteboard.
Generally, an electronic conferencing system is employed in an electronic conference. The electronic conferencing system includes a session initiator system as a conference initiator system and a plurality of session participant systems as conference participant systems. The session initiator system initiates the electronic conference. One of the session participant systems participates in the electronic conference initiated by the session initiator system. The session initiator system and the session participant systems are implemented as a personal computer. During a session between the session initiator system and the session participant systems is ongoing, the session initiator system and the session participant systems share a media component, i.e., an electronic whiteboard, to perform a collaborative work through the electronic whiteboard. The session is a state where the session initiator system and at least one session participant system communicate with each other.
The electronic whiteboard includes a plurality of whiteboard pages. One of the whiteboard pages includes a plurality of objects. The session initiator system needs to give a priority over a designated object to a session participant system so that another session participant system, not taking the priority, can not access the designated object displayed on the shared electronic whiteboard. Further, the session initiator system needs to effectively lock or prohibit the access to the designated object from another session participant system not taking the priority.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for locking or prohibiting an access to a designated object displayed on a shared electronic whiteboard by allowing only a conference participant system, having a priority over the designated object, to access the designated object.
It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable media storing program instructions, the program instructions disposed on a computer to perform a method for locking or prohibiting an access to a designated object displayed on a shared electronic whiteboard by allowing only a conference participant system, having a priority over the designated object, to access the designated object.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for locking or prohibiting an access to at least one object, comprising: a conference initiator means having an electronic whiteboard for initiating an electronic conference, the electronic whiteboard containing at least one object, wherein said conference initiator means gives a priority over an access to the object according to a sequence of lock requests; and a plurality of conference participant means for participating in the electronic conference, thereby sharing the electronic whiteboard with said conference initiator means, wherein one of said conference participant means sends a lock request corresponding to the object to said conference initiator means in order to obtain the priority over the access to the object corresponding to the lock request from said conference initiator means or prohibit the access to the object performed by said conference participant means not having the priority.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic conferencing system for locking or prohibiting an access to at least one object, comprising: a conference initiator means having an electronic whiteboard for initiating an electronic conference, the electronic whiteboard containing at least one object, wherein said conference initiator means gives a priority over an access to the object according to a sequence of lock requests; and a plurality of conference participant means for participating in the electronic conference, thereby sharing the electronic whiteboard with said conference initiator means, wherein one of said conference participant means sends a lock request corresponding to the object to said conference initiator means in order to obtain the priority over the access to the object corresponding to the lock request from said conference initiator means or prohibit the access to the object performed by said conference participant means not having the priority.
In accordance with further another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for locking or prohibiting an access to at least one object in an electronic conferencing system, comprising the steps of: a) initiating an electronic conference in the conference initiator system having an electronic whiteboard, the electronic whiteboard containing at least one object; b) participating conference participant systems in the electronic conference, thereby sharing the electronic whiteboard with the conference initiator system; c) sending a lock request corresponding to the object from a conference participant system to the conference initiator system in order to obtain the priority over the access to the object corresponding to the lock request from the conference initiator system or prohibit the access to the object performed by another conference participant system not having the priority; and d) giving a priority over an access to the object to the conference participant system according to a sequence of lock requests in response to the lock request.
In accordance with furthermore another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable media storing program instructions, the program instructions disposed on a computer to perform a method for locking or prohibiting an access to at least one object in an electronic conferencing system, comprising the steps of: a) initiating an electronic conference in the conference initiator system having an electronic whiteboard, the electronic whiteboard containing at least one object; b) participating conference participant systems in the electronic conference, thereby sharing the electronic whiteboard with the conference initiator system; c) sending a lock request corresponding to the object from a conference participant system to the conference initiator system in order to obtain the priority over the access to the object corresponding to the lock request from the conference initiator system or prohibit the access to the object performed by another conference participant system not having the priority; and d) giving a priority over an access to the object to the conference participant system according to a sequence of lock requests in response to the lock request.